China’s Ambassador to Israel, Du Wei, was found dead on Sunday at his residence in Herzliya, in an apparent heart attack.

Mr Du, 57, was found dead in his bed by aides.

An Israeli police spokesperson said: “As part of the regular procedure, police units are on the scene.”

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that there were no signs of violence found on Mr Du’s body, while Magen David Adom, which attended the scene, said that all signs pointed to Mr Du having suffered a heart attack during the night.

As of Sunday noon, there had been no comment from Chinese officials.

Mr Du, who was born in Shandong Province, had been appointed in February after a previous posting as Ambassador to Ukraine.

Mr Du only received his credentials at the end of March, due to him being required to serve a 14-day coronavirus quarantine period upon his arrival in Israel in mid-February.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Yuval Rotem expressed his condolences and offered assistance to the embassy in a phone call with deputy Chinese ambassador Dai Yuming.

The ministry said that Mr Du had one son, and that his family were not currently in Israel.

Despite generally warming ties between Israel and China, Mr Du’s death comes at a delicate moment as Israel has increasingly been forced to balance American sensitivities with its mainly economic ties with China.

On Friday, the Chinese embassy condemned remarks made by American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to Israel denouncing Chinese investment in Israel and suggesting that China was not being forthright about its coronavirus outbreak.

The US State Department said that a key theme of Mr Pompeo’s discussions in Israel was raising concerns about Chinese trade practices. The State Department cited a lack of transparency in Chinese business dealings in Israel.

Mr Du had hit back on Friday, calling the denunciations “absurd” and calling on Israel to bring the fight not only against the coronavirus, but also against a “political virus” – a not-so-veiled reference to Mr Pompeo.

Among infrastructure deals that have led to warnings that continued Chinese investment in sensitive areas might jeopardise security ties with Washington include a decision to permit a Chinese company to manage Haifa Port, where visiting American warships dock, from 2021.

In October, Israel’s security cabinet announced that it had formed a new advisory panel to review foreign investments – allegedly under pressure from Washington.